Keep warm with nogs and toddies

The best way to keep warm this holiday season is with a festive twist on the nog and toddy. Rich, frothy homemade eggnog can be so decadent, you'll likely forget about dessert. And hot toddies are so easy -- they're nothing more than booze + hot water + sweetener -- it's no wonder they're just what the mixologist ordered to keep your insides toasty.

From a shaken cocktail nog at San Francisco's Southpaw to a smoking twist on the classic hot buttered rum at Oakland's BSide BBQ, Bay Area bartenders are getting into the holiday spirit with fresh, seasonal ingredients and subtle twists on old standbys.

At Five in Berkeley, bartender Oliver Greenlaw crafts the traditional Five Christmas Nog with eggs, bourbon, nutmeg, sugar, cinnamon and heavy cream. He infuses the sugar with vanilla bean for 24 hours before blending it in, and he also adds dark, unsweetened cocoa powder to give the nog an unexpected tinge of chocolate.

"My idea was to get away from the egginess and still have those flavors of Christmas that people recognize," says Greenlaw, who recommends separating and beating the egg whites into soft peaks before folding them into the sugar mixture. The extra air will give your nog the ultimate froth, he says. (It's available at Five through December for $10 a glass.)

Over at Southpaw, a shaken cocktail nog has become a standard since the Southern cooking spot opened in San Francisco's Mission district about a year ago.

Bar manager and co-owner Edward Calhoun grew up on the North Carolina coast sipping the "cloying stuff" from the carton. Then one Christmas, a family friend showed up with the real deal: Rum, spices, eggs and ice cream blended into a smooth, frothy, pale yellow confection. They let Calhoun, then 10, have one sip.

"That became the gold standard for me," he recalls. "Ever since, I've wanted to have that experience again. But I wanted something that wasn't as heavy -- and still fun to make."

His version, available through December for $9, uses single malt whiskey, spiced rum, amaretto, eggs, milk and a housemade, winter-spiced syrup of cinnamon, allspice, cloves and star anise. Calhoun grates a coffee bean on top of the cocktail instead of sprinkling ground nutmeg. "I think it's more aromatically interesting," he says.

Ultimate toddy

Without snow as a visual reminder, Connecticut natives Tanya Holland and Phil Surkis of Oakland's BSide BBQ like connecting to the holiday season through creative cocktails. Their tips for the ultimate toddy?

"We try not to use the expensive bourbons because you're going to add water," Holland says. "But it still needs to be of good quality and high in alcohol."

She also suggests using agave nectar instead of sugar or honey because it is lighter. Another place to experiment is in the citrus.